Antioxidant and anti-candida activity of selected medicinal plants of Indian origin

Introduction: Fungal disseases are the most common opportunistic infection. Objective: The main aims of the study were to determine phenolic content and to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-candida activity of the selected Indian-origin plant extracts from the fruit pulp, stem, leaves, and seeds of three plants of Indian origin. Material and methods: The extracts from Terminalia chebula, Thuja occidentalic and Syzygium jambolanum were investigated. The total phenolic content, antioxidant potential of different crude extracts was accessed using the free radical, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). Anti-candida activity was evaluated using disk diffusion method and broth dilution assay against Candida albicans. Results: Ethanol and methanol extracts of Indian traditional plants possessed high radical scavenging activity: T. chebula 29.38±0.15, T. occidentalis 6.26±0.24 and S. jambolanum 25.64±0.18 at 0.32 mg/ml. The extracts exhibited good zones of inhibition diameters ranged between: for T. chebula 6.33±0.57 mm and 19.66±1.52 mm in diameter, S. jambolanum 7.00±00 mm and 23.33±1.52 and T. occidentalis 7.66±0.57 and 17.00±1.00 mm. C. albicans were susceptible to all three tested extract at different concentrations. The lowest MIC 1.95 mg/ml was recorded with S. jambolanum while the T. chebula and T. occidentalis inhibited the growth at 3.90 mg/ml, respectively, against the C. albicans. Conclusion: The study result paves an overall view on the bioactivities of three traditional Indian medicinal plants crude extracts.